2012 Oregon Football Schedule: Breaking Down Ducks' Toughest Tests

The Pac-12 has released its college football schedule for 2012. As a part of the new deal, every game will be featured on national television.

Whether or not you like Pac-12 football, you better get used to it. 

The Oregon Ducks won the first ever Pac-12 championship, but plenty of schools are looking ready to compete next year.

USC, most notably, is off of probation next year and will really challenge the Ducks for a Rose Bowl bid. Here's a look at who all will challenge Oregon next season.

September 1 vs Arkansas State

Just kidding.

October 6 vs Washington

The Huskies are a young, talented team and have improved every year under head coach Steve Sarkisian. The Ducks get this one at home, so that helps, but they shouldn't take Washington lightly next year.

Quarterback Keith Price leads a balanced offensive attack, although UW did lose stud running back Chris Polk. The Huskies should be able to at least keep up during a shootout.

November 3 at USC

Washington might challenge the Ducks a little bit, but this will be the first true test of the season. The Trojans handed Oregon its only conference loss of the season this year and they looked extremely good down the stretch.

Matt Barkley will return for his senior season and the Barkley-to-Robert Woods connection is going to be extremely scary for every team in the Pac-12.

USC is also bringing in a very good recruiting class, and I bet Oregon and USC split votes for Preseason Pac-12 champ. 

This is going to be a tough game for the Ducks.

November 10 at Cal

This is a relatively low-scale game sandwiched between two huge ones, so this looks like it could be a trap game for the Ducks.

Cal was 4-5 in the conference this season, but they bring in the fourth-best recruiting class. If they ever find a legitimate quarterback, the Bears could really make some noise in the crowded North division.

Oregon better be careful in this one. 

November 17 vs Stanford

The Cardinal are losing a lot of talent including Quarterback of the Millennium, Andrew Luck, but they are also bringing in a good recruiting class.

What's more, the Cardinal have a hard-nosed running game and that at times got away from Luck this season, so his departure might hurt a little less than most people think.

Although Stanford might take a step back, this won't be an easy one for Oregon at home. 

Obviously, the Pac-12 Championship (if they make it) and the bowl game will also be tough tests, but those clearly are far from being known.